Pull Me Up (a destiel au fanfic)

chapter 19

"Okay, 'The average shelf life of blank is about two years," Charlie read, glancing up at the three of us with an amused grin. She pulled the other cards from under her leg. "'Seven dead infants stuffed into cardboard boxes'," she gasped, trying not to laugh. "'Seventy-two virgins', and... 'iPhone dick pics'," all four of us laughed at the answers and she groaned, lifting her hand to her forehead. "Oh my god, this is hard," she giggled. 

"That's what she said," Cas and Claire uttered in unison. Both of their eyes went wide as they looked and each other and burst out laughing before turning back to Charlie. 

"But I'm gonna have to go with... 'Seven dead infants stuffed into cardboard boxes,'" she shook her head. "That's gotta take the cake."

Cas threw his hands into the air, doing a happy dance while taking the black card from Charlie's hands. 

We'd been playing Cards Against Humanity for about four hours now, and as we got through every round, I questioned more and more if Cas should really be authorized to be a therapist. He'd been winning almost every round with his abundance of morbid cards, including (full statement), the following:

'Keebler All-Elf orgy was totally worth the trauma'

'It's too dangerous to go alone, take an ice pick lobotomy'

'Before I am president, I must destroy all evidence of my involvement with the sensitive European photographer who's fucking my wife'

and my personal favorite

'TSA guidelines now prohibit draining Carl Sagan's corpse of its mysterious energies on airplanes' 

I did have to admit, though, despite being slightly traumatized by Cas, and having Charlie and Claire both meet my expectations with their sociopathic answers, the game was incredibly entertaining. It was half past midnight and we couldn't seem to stop. 

Every plate of food Charlie and Claire had prepared during the night was almost licked clean, and every ounce we didn't eat was wrapped up and in the refrigerator for leftovers later. I hadn't made mention to Cas anything about wondering where he'd been all day yesterday, but he didn't give me any reason, too. I think he sensed that Christmas would be hard for me, and he was being extra affectionate today. It started with him always touching me, even if it was small; a hand on my back, my arm, holding me hand or on my knee. But he grew bolder and would sneak kisses whenever Charlie and Claire were turned away. Eventually one of them caught us, and he did it whenever he felt like it. 

I wasn't complaining, especially because every time he did it, I felt the weight on my chest get lighter and lighter. It was easier to breathe, I was happier. But this was a different kind of happy than what I'd been feeling before our talk. It was snow-like; genuine, fluffy and pure. I was legitimately glad to be in Cas's presence. He shifted his hand from my knee to add his card to the stack of others, replacing it almost immediately after. 

I, of course, realized that day just how quickly we'd jumped into our relationship. Of course we'd already been friends for a month before we even started dating, but it'd been about three weeks since then and we'd broken up almost three times. I hoped that it was just the rustiness of a new relationship and that we'd hop into it with full force now that things seemed to be settled. 

"Okay, you know what?" Claire whined, interrupting my thoughts. "Let's do something else, I think Cas has asserted his dominance enough for one night."

Charlie's head snapped up, locking eyes with me, a mischievous twinkle in hers. "I think that's for Dean to decide."

I sighed loudly, rolling my eyes at her, but I was unable to contain my laughter. She high fived her partner in crime and I turned to glance at Cas, finding him sitting with an eyebrow raised and I small smirk on his face. He turned to look at me and winked and my mouth fell open. I was still smiling but I was now more than a little surprised by his sudden increase in sassiness and self-confidence. 

The girls, too busy with themselves, thankfully didn't catch his wink, but found us staring at each other in the aftermath, where I was shaking my head and pushing Cas's shoulder gently. 

 "Aw look how cute," Charlie said sarcastically, pretending to gag after. They laughed in their immaturity and started to stand up. 

"What are we doing?" I asked, started to stand and turning back to offer Cas a hand up. 

"I don't know, maybe watch a movie or something," Claire shrugged as she knelt back down to gather up the cards and put them back in their box. "Maybe-" a loud clap of thunder rang out and Cas jumped, but the rest of us just froze. I started towards the door; it was unusual for their to be a thunder storm in the middle of winter, unless it was a snow storm or a blizzard. When I opened it, I found flurries of snow falling around me, and just then a streak of lightning brightened the entire sky. 

The sky, though littered with clouds, was a slew of colors. There were dark blues, pinks and yellows on the horizon; and when the lightning came, it looked incredible. I stood there, in awe for a few moments until I felt a warm hand on my back. Since I knew it was Cas, I didn't look at him, I just kept watching the sky. Charlie and Claire slipped out from behind us and walked towards my car, laying back on the hood to watch the snowfall. 

Cas's hand on my back shifted, moving upwards so his hand rested on my shoulder. This time I turned to look at him, and he was already watching me, a peaceful look on his face. I didn't understand until that point, just why Cas was always so passive and calm. There was no way, still to this day, to explain the warmth I felt throughout me when I saw him that night. It sounded cliche, but seeing nature in such a way that the sky was angry and dark, and the snow was so light and joyous just put me at ease. And I knew Cas felt the same way; at ease. 

I searched Cas's face and he tilted his head to the side, just barely, in question. I leaned down and kissed him, and for some reason it felt different that time. Even as I lifted my hands to his hips and he touched my cheeks, it was a new experience. I didn't feel the usual pull to either stop or never stop touching him. It was all in the moment, and I wasn't worried about where we'd be months from now, days from now or even twenty minutes from now. While I pulled him closer, all I thought about was now; the scene we were painting. The sky, the snow, the girls on my car. 

We were a family. 

Cas pulled away first, and shifted, wrapping his arms around my neck to hug me, and that was enough for me. Having him close, his scent around me, all of it. When I returned the favor by putting my arms around his torso, I felt a new sensation. 

I loved Castiel.  

A/N:

Okay this was short yada yada yada and I'm sorry but I'll update again today out of pure guilt. 

I thought that would be a really cute ending so I know this is like a quarter of my usual chapter lengths but I DIDN'T WANNA RUIN THE SWEETNESS OF THAT ENDING SO SUCK MY DICK. 

Ok love you

-Nat